Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
by Starbuck223
Summary: Mulder and Scully take a nice trip to the ballet on Christmas Eve and Scully gets to relive a bit of her childhood.


Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Disclaimer: I'm tired of telling everyone that they aren't mine. Someday I'm gonna go "They ARE mine! All mine! Mwuahahahaha! None of you can take them from me!"

Dedication (I didn't forget this time!) This fic is dedicated to my clarinet professor, Mr. Kovach, who is an awesome performer. I saw him play at the Academy of Music's Nutcracker. Hope someday it can be me down there! Hehe.

A/N: This is fluff, but as with all my fluff, it isn't completely unrealistic. I try to stay true to the characters in everything I write. Hope you enjoy.

"Why don't you ask him?" Scully's sister-in-law, Tara, asked her over the phone.

Scully sighed. "Because he won't go." She'd explained this to Tara before, and was losing her patience.

"You don't know if you don't ask," Tara warned.

"Fine. You're sure that nobody else can use them?" Scully asked her persistent sister-in-law. She knew that Tara was only trying to help her, but couldn't help being irritated this early in the morning.

"I'm sure. There's no harm in asking," Tara told her.

They said their goodbyes and Scully got out of her car. She'd listened to an earful from Tara her entire way to work.

Drawing in a deep breath, Scully headed for the basement office that she shared with Fox Mulder 

He won't go, she told herself. _I know it._

"Good morning, Starshine," Mulder chirped as she entered.

"Morning," she replied dully, wondering when would be the best time to ask him.

"What's new with you? Anything?" Mulder asked, paging through a file.

_Okay...divine intervention_, Scully thought to herself. "I talked to Tara this morning," she informed him.

"Bill's wife?" Mulder asked, distastefully spitting out the name.

Scully nodded. "Anyway, she and Bill got tickets to the Nutcracker for this Friday, Christmas Eve, but they can't use them because Bill got sick. Tara won't go to the show without him."

Mulder tried not to enjoy that detail too much, but couldn't resist asking, "How sick is he?"

Scully chose to ignore his comment. "Anyway...she's trying to give me the tickets, but I told her that I don't have anyone to go with me." She paused for a second. "She told me to ask you. So, how would you feel about going to the ballet with me?"

She waited for his response, then silently cursed the world, which she was sure was out to spite her. Mulder looked her square in the eyes and said, "Of course I'll go...why wouldn't I?"

Scully sighed. "I didn't think the ballet was really your thing..."

Mulder smiled. "It's not...not by a long shot, but if it'll make you happy and you need someone to go with, then it can be my thing...for one night at least."

Scully felt so stupid. She should have known that he'd give her an answer like that. She'd been certain that he wouldn't want to go for hatred of the ballet, but didn't factor in that he would do it just for her sake. If that wasn't a form of love, then she didn't know what they had between them.

Scully smiled sadly at her misjudgment. "Great. I'll tell Tara that I can use the tickets after all."

Friday night Mulder arrived at Scully's apartment wearing one of his nicest suits.

"I, um, wasn't really sure what to wear," he admitted sheepishly. "I looked online and it said that 'some patrons prefer more formal dress, but this isn't required.' I figured the suit was a happy medium between jeans and an all out tux."

Scully was wearing a skirt and a dressy top. She looked very pretty, adorned with faux diamond earrings and a matching necklace. She smiled at her partner, remember the last time she'd seen him in a tux...

They took their seats, which were pretty good ones at that, and listened to the orchestra warm up before the show. Horns floated along arpeggios, and a clarinet player flew up and down his scales.

Finally, the lights were dimmed and the overture began.

Scully had been a fan of the Nutcracker ever since she was a little girl. Though she was much older and knew that it was just a story, the simple ballet still held magic for her. Watching the dancers, she remembered gliding around her kitchen to the music in her head.

Mulder too seemed to be enjoying the beautiful mix of music and dance...or was he only interested in the leg...? Scully wondered.

The sugar plum fairy was a talented and gorgeous dancer, but the best by far was the lead dancer in the Waltz of the Flowers. Scully was absolutely captivated.

After the show, Mulder returned to Scully's apartment, and she invited him upstairs for some refreshments to end their evening.

He looked at Scully with a new sense of wonderment. "I never pegged you as a fan of the fine arts," he said.

Scully smiled. "You're one to talk."

"I told you, I only went for your sake..." Mulder said in his defense.

She laughed. "You seemed to enjoy it."

Mulder stopped smirking and told her seriously, "I did, actually. It wasn't too bad, once I got into it."

Scully was satisfied, and decided to address his original question. "I'm not that into music or theater, but I've always loved the Nutcracker."

"Did you want to be a ballerina when you grew up?" Mulder teased her.

"When I was five...yes," Scully admitted, embarrassed that she'd ever considered it.

"You're petite enough," Mulder said, poking fun at her height as always.

"Ah, but ballerinas are supposed to be beautiful and tall. I don't have the legs for it," Scully lamented.

Mulder grinned. "I think you're beautiful."

Scully shook her head, smiling nonetheless. He always managed to get that smile out of her, no matter what.

"I've gotta take a trip to the lil' ballerina's room..." Mulder said, excusing himself.

"Do you want me to make some tea? I have cookies and all sorts of goodies my mom sent me. I'll get it ready for when you're done."

"Sounds good," Mulder called, heading off to the bathroom.

Scully walked into her small kitchen. The only light on was a small one over the sink. It left the majority of the room in shadows, almost like a stage.

Scully put on the tea and pulled out some tins of cookies, but being alone and in just her stockings, she could hear the orchestra in her head start playing.

The window reflected her figure and urged her to twirl around like she had as a little girl.

Giving into her girlish impulse, Scully spread her arms and spun around, pretending she was on point in front of an adoring audience.

She kept dancing, then in one grand spin, she faced the doorway, where she saw Mulder staring back at her. He'd probably seen the entire thing...

Crimson rushed to Scully's cheeks and she looked away from his eyes. She was completely embarrassed, but Mulder didn't take the opportunity to make fun of her.

Instead, he stepped forward and extended his hand to her.

Scully looked at him, surprised, but managed a weak smile and accepted.

He pulled her toward his body, causing her to spin, and soon they created a poor imitation of the dancers they'd seen earlier that night.

It was all Scully could do to keep a straight face, and when she tripped over her own feet, she finally collapsed into giggles.

Mulder too was laughing.

"You must think I'm insane," Scully laughed.

"Not really," Mulder told her. "I think that you're a beautiful dancer whose composure during performances needs work."

Scully shook her head at how silly the two of them were acting. "Thanks."

"Did you have fun reliving your childhood tonight?" He asked, referring to their ballet as well as the real one.

"I did. Thank you for coming with me." Scully looked him in the eyes and said with mock seriousness, "And thank you for being my dancing partner."

"Anytime," he replied. "I'll always be your partner."

Her partner in crime, and in crime fighting. Someone to go to the ballet with, and dance around her kitchen with...but what else was he thinking?

Scully did a single turn that brought her closer to Mulder and threw her arms lightly around his neck.

She leaned in and kissed him, lifting one leg gracefully into the air behind her as he held onto her hips.

Scully brought her leg down and stood up, then took a bow. Mulder threw her another smile, and applauded her efforts.

"Encore..." he urged.

Mulder caught her hand and pulled her back to him, kissing her again, as the imaginary curtain closed on them.

The End

Yay! Happy fluff. Reviews are always welcome. They are the opium of life; they feed my muse, and they brighten my days. :)


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